The art of mindfulness

Don't your just LOVE the snow?! I was beginning to wonder if we were going to get hit with some serious, stay at home (and not just for a dusting) weather. This last storm, along with a bug that has made its way around my household, allowed me a little more down time. Since my physical yoga practice was on hold I decided to do "mental yoga" by browsing through B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga, a comprehensive manual on the philosophy and practice of yoga.

There were a few yoga asanas (postures) that I wanted to explore on a deeper level once I got better. This day I decided to actually read the forward and introduction. I've had the book for years and, as with most of my books, was too excited about the book to read the introduction. I came across a Sanskrit saying - mana eva manushyanam karanam bhandha mokshayaho (yes, definitely a tounge twister!). The saying translates "as the mind, so the man; bondage or liberation are in your mind. If you feel bound, you are bound. If you feel liberated, you are liberated."

For several moments I sat in silence trying to figure out what that meant to me. Sitting on my bed surrounded by tissues I realized that my current state of health began in my mind. My daughter, who normally cartwheels after every two steps, was totally zapped and didn't want to do anything but sleep and drink water. I looked at how she was affected and in the back of my mind knew that if she was down for the count I'd better get ready to follow suit. Have you ever been around someone who was sick and immediately thought "oh no, now I am going to get sick"? You sit back and wait for it to come. And then lo and behold you wind up getting sick!

This can be true to many other situations that we first play out in our mind. When we think of the worse case scenario we are putting ourselves through mental anguish so that we'll be prepared for whatever happens.

If that is the case (and it truly is) then why not think of the best case scenario and whatever happens, happens? We have the power to create our own realities and it begins in our mind. If you want happiness, joy, love or freedom create it first with your thoughts.

Living on purpose

I woke up early this morning to do some quiet meditation before my family started putting in their requests for the day. Last week was hectic and I needed to clear the mental clutter before beginning another week. After my meditation I looked at my bookshelf and remembered there are a few books on my "to read" list that I haven't gotten to yet. I was instantly drawn to The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose by Matthew Kelly. A dear friend had given me the book a while ago and I did read it but for some reason couldn't remember the concept, other than what the title suggested.

Always knowing that I am drawn to things for a reason I closed my eyes and opened the book to a "random" page. I landed on page 139 entitled Why are we all so busy? Smiling, I was once again reminded of my resolution to slow down, which I am still working on with an open heart and no self-judgment. The chapter discusses the author's life and what led him to write the book. Like many of us he reflected on the concepts of life and death, God and religion, society and other emotions the average human experiences. He wondered if he was put on earth for any real purpose. I've often reflected on about our ability to make choices and how we have the power to do anything our hearts desire, but what we may forget or not consider is that we are all here for a purpose that was decided a long time ago.

Many of us know and feel what our purpose is but for whatever reason choose to take our lives in a different and sometimes unfulfilling direction. So how do we start (or get back to) living on purpose? Matthew Kelly states that "our lives change when we stop merely replying to questions and begin to ask them." If you need to know your purpose just simply ask and be open to seeing and accepting the answer you receive.

We are in the midst of a Universal shift in consciousness and change. Now is the time for us to truly live our destinies and share our light with the world.

May your existence be filled love, laughter, happiness and purposeful living.

Let yourself be open and free

This has been a wonderfully exciting, emotional and historic week. My daughter turned 7 years old on Tuesday and I was able to witness history (from the comfort of my home of course!). Grateful for the downtime, I decided to treat myself to a massage and acupuncture to relax. At first it was strange being the one on the table, as it is I who normally gives the treatments. It took a while for me to relax as I found myself taking in everything and wondering "what's going to happen next?" I found myself trying to figure out what energy line was being worked on and if there was anything I could incorporate into my practice.

As I stared at the ceiling and took in my peaceful surroundings a conversation with one of my massage clients came to mind. She was an executive at a huge firm and was responsible for making most of the decisions at her company. It was hard for her to relax during traditional massages so she decided to try Thai Massage since there is a lot more movement and she felt she could be more involved. I told her that though the massage is different from traditional Western massage her involvement needed to be very minimal for her to reap the benefits of the session. It took a little while but she finally relaxed and allowed herself to just be in that moment. Afterwards she told me that she just closed her eyes and envisioned she was a bird flying freely and that helped her to relax and let go.

Following my own advice, I closed my eyes and started to truly relax. I quieted my mind and thought of myself as a feather blowing gently in the wind. In that moment I allowed myself to be completely open and free. The rest of the session was a blur but I can tell you that I am still floating in the wind! There are several opportunities for us to be free - worry-free, carefree, stress-free. So I encourage you to take a moment, look out the window or close your eyes and choose to be free.

May this day, and your weekend, find you in a state of peace, happiness and joy.

My resolution

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am anti-resolutions. I took the stand against resolutions many years ago because of the self-induced stress that accomplishing and maintaining them brought. My resolutions always involved being more centered, losing weight and advancing my career all in an unrealistic timeframe. Each February I found myself frustrated with myself and my resolutions. My unhealthy habits resumed and were worse than before I set my goals. So one year I resolved never again to set resolutions.

This year I faced some of my greatest challenges and (thank God) greatest successes. Unfortunately during my expansion hub bub I lost sight of what was really important – my health. As an avid meditator and yoga practitioner I was felt that I was living a perfectly balanced life. I was working more and I was finally getting some attention for the business, plus I still had my sanity, right? My family obligations were never neglected even though I spent long hours at the new studio. There was always time to cook a healthy meal, spend time with my daughter and husband and do whatever housework I had the energy for.

Well, what I forget how important it was for me to REST. The gift and the curse of what I do is that it doesn’t feel like work. I often find myself working an ungodly amount of hours without realizing it. Soon I began to experience some very odd health problems that didn’t necessarily put me down for the count but definitely interfered with my hectic work schedule. So I bit the bullet and went to see a Naturopathic Doctor. We spent two hours discussing my work schedule, my tendencies, my fear of failure and other things that were (seemingly) unrelated to my health issues. At the close of my session he explained what was going on and that the root cause of ALL of my current issues was burnout. At first I tried to deny it, I was doing yoga, I was meditating and I am always in a (semi) constant state of Samadhi (bliss), right?

So often we overwork ourselves because we think we can handle it. We are bound by obligations and wouldn’t even think of lessening the load because there are people who depend on us. Well guess what? You need you too! If we don’t take care of ourselves we aren’t any good to anyone.

This year I am breaking my anti-resolutions rule. I NOW resolve to take it easy, work smarter, relax more often, say “no” more often and honor myself in each and every decision that is made.

So what do you resolve?

The Greatest Gift

It's that time of year where the advertisers are banking that we'll all go rushing to get the latest fad gift. My family has been inquiring what I'd like for Christmas and I honestly can't think of any material thing I want right now.

This year has been a very rough one financially and I'm now starting to see the fruits of my labor. Because of the "economic crunch" I took a long hard look at my budget and found creative ways to have fun with the family and still get in some "pamper me" time. Instead of going out to eat with the family we bonded over cooking meals at home. That (almost necessary) bi-weekly trip to the nail salon for a pedicure became a home ritual. I would soak my feet in essential oil infused water while sipping on tea and catching up on the latest book. That rushed feeling was gone and the usual 20 minute pedicure turned into a full hour of relaxation.

I can definitely say that I am grateful for this year. It made me remember that the greatest gift we can give to our loved ones is ourselves. Time is endless, priceless and can be given each and every year.

May this holiday season bless you and yours!

Om Shanti,

Dana

Live, breath and accept abundance

I know a lot of us have been glued to the television set watching the crash of the stock market along with everything else we have invested our hard earned money into. Due to all the gloom and doom I decided to spend less time watching television and more time reading books. With my newfound downtime I re-discovered Napoleon Hill and Dr. Dennis Kimbro’s Think and Grow Rich, A Black Choice. I already listened to Napoleon Hill’s first book Think and Grow Rich on audiocassette and had NO idea that the “black” version would offer any greater insight… boy was I wrong. Black, white, yellow or purple, we need to read these books! It reminded me that we create our own reality, regardless of what is going on in the world around us. Yes, we are being told that stocks are crashing and the market is “down”, but lest we forget that we do have the power to control our destiny through faith and manifestation.

So I have resolved to turn off the television, ignore the papers and claim and manifest all the desires of my heart. Your life is what YOU make it… not what you are told. If you want to be wealthy in this time of need, claim it and believe it is coming sooner than later. I live by the rule ask, believe and receive. We can all live the life we dream of. We have to just believe that it is here and we are worthy.

This day I encourage you to live happily, abundantly and blissfully!

Music therapy...

Today I woke up in one of those moods. I was tempted to roll over and stay in bed all day, despite my long to do list. Knowing that sleeping in was not an option, especially on a Monday, I dragged myself out of the bed and put my iPod on shuffle. On my way to the bathroom I stumped my toe. I managed to slip getting out of the tub, almost breaking something. And to add icing on the cake I got floss stuck in my teeth. Just GREAT… going back to bed was starting to look more like an option. Then I heard it:

Birds flying high you know how I feel. Sun in the sky you know how I feel. Breeze drifting on by you know how I feel. It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me....and I'm feeling good.

The soulful sultry voice of Nina Simone filled the room. Her music lifted my dark cloud and gave me the inspiration I needed to continue on with my day – minus the bad mood. I began to sing with her and danced as I allowed her words to sink in.

It’s amazing how powerful a song can be. Have you ever been in a mood and a song comes on right on time and changes things? Music is a very powerful tool in shifting energy. The next time you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or something happens to sour your beautiful day, listen to music for inspiration.

Have a blessed and peaceful day!